User blog:John Pan/Spartus
Spartus The dirt trembled. A single, skeletal hand shot out of the ground, grasping at the air. '' ''The General looked up' at the balcony. "Quickly, do you have the scent?" "Yessss, lord," one of the snake ladies said. She took out a sash of silvery fabric, like the kind Hunters wore. "Excellent," the General said. "Once my warriors catch its scent, they will pursue its owner relentessly. Nothing can stop them, no weapons known to half-blood or hunter. Toss it here!" And as he said that, skeletons erupted from the ground. There were twelve of them, one for each tooth the General had planted. They were nothing like Halloween skeletons, or the kind you might see in cheesy movies. These were growing flesh as I watched, turning into men, but men with dull gray skin, yellow eyes, and modern clothes-gray muscle shirts, camo pants, and combat boots. If you did't look too closely, you could almost believe they were human, but their flesh was transparent and their bones shimmered underneath, like X-ray images. One of them looked straight at me, regarding me coldly, and I knew that no cap of invisibility would fool it. -''The Titan's Curse'' A nearly unkillable super-fast killer. The GAC was hard-pressed to make such a powerful weapon system that lived up the the myth a hard, cold reality. Then, after some design inspiration from the Asian ZC-4, the decided to give several of their Leopard 2s an upgrade. The machine lived up to its legend. While it's brethren, the Manticore, destroys tanks, it blasts unwelcome infantry into charred shreds of flesh. Crew Composition *Driver *Gunner/ Commander Sensory The Spartus is equipped with an RTN-30X fire-control radar, and has an additional binocular E/O targeting system. A battery of hemispherical IR threat detection cameras is present. An additional indirect fire periscope is also standard. Upgrades Targeting LADAR To improve targeting accuracy, the Spartus can get a dedicated high-resolution LADAR to control its main weapon. Armament OTO Melara 76mm Super Rapid (1) The OTO Melara 76mm Super Rapid is a naval-grade L/62 autocannon firing 76mm x 636mmR HEDP (a HEAT warhead with fragmentation effects) shells. The cannon draws from a vertical revolver-style autoloader carrying 80 shells in two layers, which it can empty in a single minute. This weapon might as well be the most destructive weapon in the GAC army's arsenal. M2 Browning (1) To ward off enemy infantry, the Spartus carries a rooftop-mounted remote-controlled M2 Browning. It fires the big, old .50 caliber round that is quite effective in smashing through brick walls or ballistic armor. 400 rounds are carried in the RWS. Upgrades HEAT-I Replacing the original HEDP rounds with much more lethal HEAT-I. Packing a dedicated HEAT warhead that doesn't sacrifice penetration power for fragmentation firepower, the HEAT-I combines Zirconium fragments with the original tandem shape-charge warhead, allowing it to deliver the slow-burning white-hot fragments into the target vehicle after penetration, or if programmed to detonate in proximity, can shower the target location with the incendiary projectiles. Very potent. Advanced Cooling System Without seawater, the original gun only has an air cooling system. To improve the Super Rapid's rate of fire without overheating, the autocannon can obtain an extensive air/oil cooling system that wraps around the barrel, allowing longer sustained fire—it can now freely empty its 80-round magazine at 120rpm. Protection Built off of the Leopard 2A5, the Spartus retains the original multi-layered composite armor throughout the vehicle. However, the GAC added extra spaced armor, anti-bomblet roof modules, mine-protection composite plating, spall liner, and cage armor. This raises protection against both kinetic and shape-charge threats by a wide margin, providing it with over a meter of RHAe on its turret face. A reverse-engineered Shtora softkill ECM system, called the Sandstorm, is also standard. It consists of an independent mast mounting sensors, jammers, and dazzlers. Upgrades Trophy Active Protection System Directly purchased from Rafael, the Trophy hardkill ECM combines four F/G band fire control radars and two rotating launchers installed on the two sides of the turret roof. Firing a barrage of tungsten buckshot to intercept incoming projectiles, Trophy can effectively take out incoming RPGs, shells, and ATGMs. Increases survivability by a wide margin. Gun Armor For enhanced survival of the gun—stray rounds could knock it out—the Spartus can obtain spaced armor and spall liner for its Super Rapid's barrel. Allows it to survive the occasional light cannon shell, and immunizes it from small-arms fire. Mobility The Spartus is powered by a refurbished MTU MB 873 47.6 liter 12-cylinder turbodiesel, giving the 70-ton tank an impressive 1,500hp. The tank can achieve a maximum of 60 kmph, retaining 45 kmph off-road. However, some performance is sacrificed to ensure that the turret can turn at an incredible 120 degrees a second. Upgrades None. Category:Blog posts